US Vice President Dick Cheney (2nd L) th

US Vice President Dick Cheney (2nd L) thanks firefighters that fought the fire that raged in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, 19 December 2007. A fire broke out Wednesday in US Vice President Dick Cheney's ceremonial office in a building next to the White House, according to US officials, who ruled out terrorism as a cause. The blaze sent thick black smoke into the sky and drove hundreds of presidential aides from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building into the street or West Wing of the presidential mansion. The White House itself was not evacuated, and officials there said Cheney and President George W. Bush were in the top-secret Situation Room when the blaze began and were never in any danger. AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)